STORM PREPARATION AT SEA

[Hoodsail]

Record hourly barometric pressures to get a sense of impending winds. More rapid the drop the mozre intense the winds.

[Qayaq]

I sail single handed and worry about head injuries, I Also have a mountain bike. The helmet for that is light and I hardly know I've got it on, it's just become dual purpose.
This is a great thread. I,m going to take all the items that are applicable to my boat, print out and laminate the list so I have reference guide for when the poo starts hitting the fan, that will also help me in getting the gear I need prepped and on board before leaving the Dock.
Thanks everyone there are some great ideas here.

[Pelagic]

Great stuff everyone.... now can we have some thoughts about rigging.....running and standing rigging for prep and checks.

What checks would you do
If sails were down, how do you set up the halyards to avoid slapping (running back stays?)

[rmlarson1098]

Originally Posted by philtrick

For helmets, I'd suggest a Gath helmet, not cheap, but well made:


https://gathsports.com/gath-sports-shop/gath-hat-eva/


I use one when surfing and it takes a good beating, and salt water does not degrade it.


My son also wears one when dinghy sailing, has saved him from nasty hits off the boom many times.


Phil

As a rider I leave my motorcycle helmet ashore. Too bulky and heavy for the boat, plus the big old thing is a dangerous object in itself. My old 'Cookie' skydiving helmet works great aloft, which is the only time I wear it. Would be fine in storm conditions, too, I'm sure. Cheap is good, but if it doesn't fit and/or is uncomfortable you likely won't wear it.
I watched a guy crack his head off his mast while aloft in a harness. He was a 'neighbor' and we were on moorings in a nice swell. While it didn't seem like much of a bump he was out cold and hanging upside down (!?) in his harness. He was lucky he didn't somehow fall out of it. His crew rescued him (with difficulty) and he had a beer rather than seek medical treatment. But he was out for maybe a minute - that's a long time and indicates a modest brain injury at least. Could have been serious or fatal a long way from help, and even a light helmet could have prevented it.
Skiing helmets are great I would think when cruising in colder weather.

[old frog]

Thanks for the helmet comments. I think I will toss one of my bike helmets aboard for work aloft, etc.

[fxykty]

Regarding helmets, my suggestion is look to white water kayaking - same use case of solid moving water. Most of the dry land helmets for cycling or climbing are built for air, not water, so they have more volume and padding with too much drag when green water crashes over your head. Find one that wraps over your ears. Someone earlier mentioned Gath - they are the gold standard for paddling helmets.

Regarding running rigging and sails, think about the preparations that you would do prior to a hurricane when at anchor. Including lowering the furled head sail and removing all biminis, dodgers, lee cloths, etc. But is that really possible on passage?

Above deck storm preparation is complicated by the fact that it is probably already blowing 40+ before you decide that the weather is continuing to deteriorate to storm conditions. How often do you know that the fresh conditions you can sail through are a pre-cursor to storm conditions?

Thanks for all the suggestions so far - there’s a heap of work items in my future to prepare the boat for storm preparations. We’ve got a Vetus wet exhaust system - how does one close it off?

[AiniA]

Many good suggestions. I think fatigue is a huge problem when the weather turns nasty. Anything you can do before and during a blow to be as well-rested as possible is very important. Sometimes people will stay awake, often worrying about the oncoming weather, when the best thing they could do is curl up in a secure, warm berth.

[boatman61]

By the time it gets to 40kts I am hove to with topsides cleared/secured as best as possible and busy putting finishing touches below.
I am not one to push boats, or myself.. thats why I reef down the main every night in good conditions.
Regarding the matter of laying ahull.. I have done it a couple of times.. in a SE gale in the Biscay with winds gustisng to 70kts which backed up the seas so they were near vertical slow moving walls of water.. started hove to however as the sea built I found as we dropped into the troughs the wind disappeared and the boat would wander causing a danger as we rode up the next one and the wind would hit the boat at different angles risking knockdowns or just being thrown off the top.
I took down all sail and dropped the boom lashing the end to the deck on the port side in an attempt to reduce windage which I saw as the greatest danger to the boat.. then followed a noisy and uncomfortable 36hrs till the worst passed.
Another time was 6 days off Flores in a prolonged N'ly of up to 60kts... the seas were pretty big but the crests very well spaced and just the occasional breaking wave.. got picked up and tossed a few times with green water visible over the deck hatches and see through sliding companionway hatch.. sadly it jetted water into the boat which was a pain but not in quantity..
There were around 40+ of us W to E boats West and South of the Azores riding it out waiting to continue to Horta.
Its scary and uncomfortable.. would not like to do it in the lighter built equivilent sized boats of today.My two were brick outhouses from the early 70's and 80's.
But its a case of take a chance with a tactic.. then hope its the right one..

[JPA Cate]

My 2 cents here: Just because someone has blood streaming down one side of her face does not necessarily mean she has had a heavy blow to her head. (I'm not talking about Kalearin's skipper here, but me.) The thing is that a nick to the scalp bleeds profusely, part of Nature's cleaning mechanism, but the sight to a viewer is really scary, they see a face half covered with blood, and they assume something serious. In my case, it was a scratch from a duck's claws I got swimming near his lady ducks--too near, I guess, for him--and I never even felt it happen. People at the picnic went white when they saw me.

I think there is a place for helmets, but also, for most of us, and in small boats, you'll have to weigh the likelihood of needing one to prevent a head injury, and if it matters enough to you to allot the space for helmets. If you take crew, will you give them extra space if they bring a helmet?

Ann

[Paul L]

I'm not sure I see a helmet as very far up the safety list. In Steady's example of hitting his head, it is pretty unlikely that he would have been.wearing a helmet even if he had one.
You are at just as much risk of being debilitated breaking ribs or an arm while being thrown.across the cabin.

Donning a helmet when you are under the boat to clear a line can make sense. But a hull crashing down on your helmet might just break your neck. Better to wait for lighter conditions if possible..

[boatman61]

I believe its been shown with motorbike helmets if you hit your head at more than 25kph your brain turns to mush.. the main service the helmets serve is to keep any mess contained.

[jackdale]

My post from an earlier similar thread:

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...ml#post1065047

[unbusted67]

Without exception every boat that I've read about being abandoned always seems to have clogged fuel filters or bilge pumps. It seems like people get knocked down and their bilge pumps always clog up. Does anyone ever try to prepare their pumps to avoid this?

[Training Wheels]

Originally Posted by scallowayuk

dont be in a 40ft surfboard that wont hove too and needs a grew of gorillas like the modern beneteau types totally unseaworthy in my opinion i ps i lost a boat singlehanding in 1986 in the azores ,the wind was over 140 knots for two days

Was it a 40’ surfboard?

[Snowpetrel]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

On my boat is the lazarette as well, huge hatch cover that if we go over would flop open and the Laz is rather large, would hold a lot of water.
I just have a hasp and padlock to hold it closed.

Barrel bolt is an easy install for the hatch cover of course, just obviously don’t secure it from outside if anyone is below.Attachment 173009

Originally Posted by jackdale

My post from an earlier similar thread:

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...ml#post1065047

Thanks Jack, a good list.

On the square riggers we used to put up safety lines, both inside and outside. These big soft ropes were lashed to very strong eyes fore and aft through the bigger spaces on deck and below.

The worked well tp reducw the distance to fall, and provide a handhold. Probably not a bad idea for bigger yachts with large saloons and fall spaces.

Re helmets. Somwthing like this would be my ideal.
https://www.amazon.com/Canterbury-Z0.../dp/B008MXABXI

We used bike helmets. Not very comfortable to sleep in...

Also look at you sea berths. I often sleep head inside a quarter berth. Better privacy. And much better head protection in bad weather.